


Safe From Harm

by WandaRavenBlack



Series: Bad Things Happen - Dick Grayson [14]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Acrobat Dick Grayson, Acrobatics, Childhood Trauma, Crying, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Flashbacks, Hurt Damian Wayne, Protective Jason, Trapeze, falling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-31 08:14:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21126821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WandaRavenBlack/pseuds/WandaRavenBlack
Summary: TEARFUL SMILEWhile Dick and Damian are training on the trapeze, Damian's rope snaps and he falls.





	Safe From Harm

“Once you get to that point, you let go of the rope, make a flip and stretch out towards me. Make sure that your hands are out towards me. Understood?” 

Damian rolled his eyes. 

“Of course I understand. I’m not stupid, Richard.” 

He got up on the trapeze and started swinging around. On the other side of the room, Dick grabbed the bar and jumped out, swinging quickly to gain the height needed. Then, he pulled his legs up, hooking them over the bar and letting his upper body hang down. 

“Okey. On three.” 

Damian nodded. 

“One, two, three.” 

Just as he was going to let go of the bar, the rope holding the bar snapped. Damian’s mouth opened in surprise before he started falling to the ground. Dick’s eyes widened as he watched the boy falling. All the sudden, he wasn’t in the training room anymore. He was back in the circus. The lights were on him. He could hear the audience’s terrified screams. He saw everything in slow motion. Damian’s wide eyes. His mouth open, but no sound coming out. And then the hit. His body almost bouncing slightly, his eyes rolling back and closing. Dick screamed as he hung upside down. The lights shifted from him to Daman’s motionless body. A few more screams were heard, before silence fell over the circus tent. Dick’s legs gave out and he let go of the bar, falling down. All thoughts about controlling his fall were gone. As the ground neared, he closed his eyes. The screams roared up around him again. He felt a powerful hit and blacked out. 

********

Bruce and Jason were standing in the hallway, staring at each other. Jason had just swung by to talk to Dick, but had been pulled into a heated argument with Bruce when the man noticed him. Their staring match was cut off by a terrified scream. Both recognized the voice as Dick’s and immediately took off towards the training room. Bruce threw the door open and his eyes widened when he took in the scene. Dick was hanging upside down on the trapeze. His hands were stretched out towards the ground, his eyes wide open. It looked like he didn’t really understand what was happening around him. Damian was on the ground, clearly knocked out. They watched in horror as Dick’s legs straightened out and he started falling. Since Bruce seemed to be frozen in place, Jason reacted first. He charged at Dick and managed to grab him around the waist, before throwing himself to the side. That way, he hit the ground first, Dick’s limp body ending up on top of him. He rolled them over, gently putting him on the ground. Meanwhile, Bruce had ran over to Damian, the boy slowly waking up. He helped him sit up, while Jason quickly checked Dick. He seemed to be alright, other than being passed out. Seeing that, he turned to Damian. 

“What the hell happened here?!” 

Damian blinked a few times, before slowly standing up and walking over to Dick and Jason. 

“I’m not sure. He was going to teach me a new trick on the trapeze. I was supposed to swing over to him when the rope snapped and I fell down.” 

Jason and Bruce exchanged worried looks. Damian frowned. 

“What?” 

Jason sighed. 

“Do you know how Dick’s parents died?” 

The boy shook his head. He knew that Dick’s parents were dead, and that it happened in a circus, but no one ever told him more than that. 

“They were on a trapeze, when Zucco sabotaged the ropes and they fell. Right in front of Dick.” 

Damian glanced up to the broken ropes on the trapeze he had been using. That explained Dick’s hesitancy to let him get up there. Very slowly, he sat down and started stroking Dick’s hair, ignoring the looks Jason and Bruce gave him. After almost two minutes, Dick started twitching, before his eyes snapped open and he bolted upright. He looked around, tears in his eyes. When he noticed Damian, he pulled the boy into a hug, as his tears started to fall. Damian froze. He didn’t know how to react to that. Dick was crying into his hair, his body shaking. Awkwardly, he patted him on the back, before pulling away. 

“Are you alright, Richard?” 

Blue eyes looked at him in confusion. 

“Me? Are you alright? You…” 

“I’m fine. But no more trapeze for me. Jumping across roofs is safer.” 

Through his tears, Dick smiled at him, before pulling him into another hug. Over his shoulder, the boy looked up at Jason. The young man nodded slightly, before standing up and stretching. 

“I’ll go talk to Alfred.”

And he walked out, giving Bruce a glare on his way out. On the mats, Damian slowly put his arms around Dick, hugging him back. 


End file.
